This invention relates to ratchet wrenches and more particularly to that class of wrenches known as palm ratchets.
Ratchet wrenches are well known. With a typical ratchet wrench a socket of a selected size is attached to the wrench and placed in engagement with a threaded fastener. A handle is provided which is used to drive the socket for either tightening or loosening the fastener. The wrench includes a ratcheting mechanism which selectively is positionable in a position to tighten a threaded fastener or a reverse position to loosen the fastener. In either event, the handle is freely rotatable relative to the socket in an opposed direction. That is, with a right hand threaded fastener and the ratchet positioned in the on-position, the handle will drive the socket in a clockwise rotation but can be moved freely in a counterclockwise direction relative to the socket and vise versa for loosening a fastener.
So called palm ratchets have gained considerable popularity. With a palm ratchet one is able readily to manually grasp the palm ratchet for, as an example, relative rotation of a nut and a bolt. When the nut and bolt reach a relatively snug position and it is desired torque the two to firmly clamp the fastener against a work piece, a removable handle is connected to the palm ratchet to provide leverage for torquing the fastener into its desired tightened position.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,777 issued Jan. 4, 2000 to Jack D. Jarvis, discloses one such palm ratchet and removable handle. With the tool of the Jarvis patent, the handle is threadedly connected to a so-called palm ratchet. The Jarvis device has several disadvantages. First, because its connection includes a threaded connection, connection or disconnection of the handle to the ratchet is slow. Secondly, the Jarvis ratchet includes a projection to receive the handle which projection interferes with operation of the ratchet when it is functioning as a palm ratchet. Further, the handle cannot be connected to the palm ratchet when a socket carried by the ratchet is engaging a fastener. Rather the palm fastener must be removed from the fastener for the handle to be connected.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a palm ratchet adapted for simpler and quicker connection and disconnection of a handle.
According to the present invention, a palm ratchet is provided which includes a generally cylindrical toothed or serrated surface. A coacting ratchet handle has a bore defined by serrated or toothed walls that selectively drivingly engage the toothed or serrated surface of the ratchet. The toothed surface of the ratchet provides a dual function in that in addition to mating with the handle teeth, the surface facilitates gripping by an operator when the handle is not attached.
In the preferred and disclosed arrangement, the toothed ratchet surface is adjacent the top of the ratchet and is of larger diameter than portions of the ratchet projecting oppositely from a socket connection projection. With this construction, the ratchet may be telescoped into the handle bore even when the palm ratchet has an attached socket in engagement with a fastener in a relatively inaccessible position. Further, a stop is provided to provide axial location of the handle and the palm ratchet.
The toothed surface of the ratchet is interrupted by an annular groove or recess which is centrally located axially. The handle carries a spring biased lever which has a retracted position enabling the ratchet to be telescoped into or removed from the handle bore. The lever has a spring biasing it toward a handle retention position in which the lever projects into the ratchet groove to maintain a ratchet to handle connection. When the ratchet and handle are so connected their respective teeth are meshed such that the handle may be operated to apply torque to the ratchet.
One of the outstanding features of the tool of this invention is that the ratchet may be telescoped into the handle bore from either side so as to position the lever selectively and one at a time in locations respectively convenient to the thumbs of right and left handed users of the tool.
Accordingly, the objects of the inventions are to provide a novel and improved palm ratchet and handle arrangement and novel and improved handle for actuating of a palm ratchet.